SPE 166847

Environmentally Compatible Drilling Fluids

Sergei Pilgun, Aleksey Aramelev, LLC PSK Burtechnologii

Copyright 2013, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Arctic and Extreme Environments Conference & Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, 1517 October 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract

Well drilling under arctic conditions affects the ecological situation in the region. At the same time, specific climatic
conditions have additional requirements for designing, equipments and technologies. There are also particular specifications
for drilling highly tortuous offshore wells. Making drilling fluids is a main task to ensure both technical capability and safety
in case of oil spill.

The Arctic Region is the world storage of energetical reserves. Significance of offshore mining is increasing from day
to day, especially on the background of depletion of easily accessible hydrocarbon reserves. Exploration of a shelf plate is an
essential component of economic and strategic development of Russia.

Shelf plate exploration is carried out under harsh weather conditions: vast time period of storms, hard ice situation,
change of stream velocities. All this creates additional requirements for the design, choice of applied equipment and
technologies. Well drilling under arctic conditions is relevant to the environmental safety in the region. Restoration of the
ecological balance in the zone of ecological catastrophe takes a lot of time. And major disasters are capable to tilt the
ecological balance of our planet at all.

The main objective of exploration of the arctic shelf plate is development and implementation of high performance
technologies that are security-wise and applicable to use in the Arctic region.

The important link of the technological chain of modern well construction is the drilling fluid that performs a lot of
functions when carrying out drilling operations.

Requirements for drilling fluids

By drilling and exploration of wells in the arctic shelf plate, for well construction and maintaining the offshore ice-
resistant fixed platforms are used. The specificity of shelf drilling from platforms is connected with big deviations from
wellhead to bottomhole; this certainly poses particular requirements to drilling fluids:

- maximum low coefficients of rotating resistance and axial tool movement;

- ensuring hole integrity with high slope angles during the whole drilling of an interval until it is covered with casing string;
- appropriate static and dynamic fluid resistance limited by equivalent circulating density, especially when drilling wells with
extended horizontal hole running to several thousands meters to prevent lost and hydraulic fracturing of formation;
- and, an essential condition, the drilling fluid should be environmentally compatible.
At the present time for well drilling both water-based solutions and invert-emulsion oil-based solutions are used.

The most environmentally safe solutions are water solutions with the use of nature-friendly materials: biodecomposed
polysaccharides, their ethers and mud powders. When using such solutions particular attention should be paid to the applied
clay inhibitors, surfactants, and lubricating additives needed for failure-free service. When using the oil-based solutions
particular importance is attached to the used oils. It is preferably to use dearomatized compositions that, in case of spill, do
lesser harm to the environment in comparison with solutions where diesel fuel, low-viscosity mineral oils, mixtures of diesel
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fuel with petroleum and oils are used as a hydrocarbon phase.

One of the safety criterion of the reagents for drilling wells in the shelf area is the check according to the HCMS
(Harmonized Mandatory Control Scheme), developed within the context of the Oslo and Paris commission in 2002. Such
assessment is carried out to determine potential effect on the environment by wasting chemical products to the sea in case of
emergency or spill. Researches are based on the control of the growth rate reduction of oceanic algae and biodegradability in
sea water. Only reagents that pass safety tests, must be used for the drilling fluids applied for offshore drilling and, especially,
under arctic conditions.

Drilling fluids of OOO PSK Burtechnologii for offshore well boring

The main objective was the development of the drilling fluid that provides not only necessary operational
characteristics for required drilling conditions, but also provides environmental safety in case of leakage and spill in the event
of an emergency.

The main task of the drilling fluids development is the maximum possible exclusion of chemical agents having
aggressive action on the environment. First of all, these are lubricating additives and dispersing medium for invert-emulsion
solutions (petroleum, diesel fuel, mineral or synthetic oils) frequently used by the modern well drilling. The mechanism of
decomposition of hydrocarbon products in aqueous medium is still poorly studied. Oxygen content in water has a great effect
on this process. So, petroleum oxidation under aerobic conditions lasts not less than 100-150 days, and under anaerobic
conditions significantly longer. The temperature, at which decomposition takes place, also has an effect on the rate of
hydrocarbon decomposition. Most chemical reactions comply with the Vant Hoffs rule: Increase of the temperature per 10K
increases the rate of the reaction 2-4 times.

It is thought that under arctic conditions 1 m of petroleum can damage approximately 1,000,000 m of water.

To prevent destruction of polysaccharide reagents in fresh and lightly-salted biopolymer clay-free solutions,
bactericidal agents based on formaldehyde, glutaric aldehyde, salts of heavy metals, quaternary ammonious bases, etc. are
used. For clay inhibition the amine-based reagents are applied. All these additives affect aquatic medium.

Basing on the worldwide trend in the area of the development of biodegradable and environmentally compatible
lubricating additives based on fatty alcohols, compound ethers, glycerin, and also on applying least harmful for the
environment non-organic clay inhibitors (potash chloride, alkaline silicates), two types of drilling fluids were proposed.

Water-based drilling fluid, with the use, first of all, sea water, and polysaccharidic reagents compound to
control rheological characteristics required for effective borehole cleaning and to create minimal ECP.

As the clay inhibitors, potash chloride and alkaline meta- and polysilicates in the water-based fluid are used. Due to
high concentration of silicates, and, as a result, high pH-value of the fluid, polysaccharidic reagents are protected against early
biodegradation. For additional inhibition, sulfonated asphalts, humates, and polyglycerols may be used. As a lubricating and
antistuck additive the reagent based on polyatomic alcohols that is able to work effectively under conditions of high pH is
used. The use of high concentrations of alkaline silicates is environmentally safe. It is connected with the fact, that when
silicates come into sea water they interact with calcium and magnesium ions producing relevant inactive silicates. Due to this
reaction, silicates are strong clay inhibitors which produce insoluble residue on the surface of clay particles, whilst, in micro-
cracks in clay mineral under the influence of lowered pH the formation of jelly-like residue of silicic acids takes place. Both
these processes significantly reduce penetration of water filtrate into the formation, so the rate of clay swelling is substantially
confined.

Drilling fluid based on the compound ethers that effectively substitute hydrocarbon oils in the emulsions of the
second type.

At the present time, the base oils based on the compound ethers are considered as the most environmentally-friendly
materials, and they are an excellent alternative for traditional mineral and synthetic oils. Such type of the solution keeps its
operating characteristics up to 160C, so it can be widely used. The compound ethers are some of the safest organic materials
that are almost fully biodecomposed. The biodegradation degree of the applied reagent according to the OECD 306 is, in
aerobic conditions 100%, in anaerobic conditions after 60 days 96.3%, and after 275 days 100%. In the formulation of the
drilling oils based on the compound ethers there are no aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes, and cycloalkanes, that are toxic to the
environment and susceptible to slow biodegradation.

Anyway, the question arises: how does the substitution of the traditional reagents influence on the lubricating and
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inhibiting properties of the drilling fluid?

To determine the inhibiting property of the solutions, the device OFITE for defining clay swelling under dynamic
conditions was used, and, as a test sample montmorillonite gel powder was used. The research is based on the change of the
volume of hydrating sample in the given period of time.

Lubricating properties of these solutions were determined with the use of the friction test machine OFITE in
conditions of change of the solution temperature. The results of the measurements are shown in diagrams 1 and 2.

Diagram 1. Lubricating property of the silicate drilling fluid with the use of the lubricant based on polyatomic alcohols.

Diagram 2. Lubricating property of the drilling fluid based on hydrocarbons and compound ethers.

For silicate solution, lubricating additive based on polyatomic alcohols (polyglycerols) was used. Most of the
lubricating additives used in modern drilling include tallow and seed oils. At high pH-values, fatty acids of tallow and seed
oils saponify producing relevant salts of these acids that are surfactants. This process results in higher foam formation in the
drilling fluid. In contrast to tallow and seed oils, polyglycerols are not susceptible to saponification in strongly alkaline media.
As a result, the drilling fluid does not foam in spite of high pH-values. Applying this reagent for the silicate fluids allows
reducing friction up to 40%.
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Change of the hydrocarbon base to the compound ethers in the invert-emulsion solutions reduces friction coefficient
at any thermal mode. The abovementioned results of these researches illustrate high efficiency of lubricating properties of the
solution confirming the feasibility of such technological solution.

For objective evaluation of the inhibiting properties of the solutions, following surveys were carried out, where KCl-
silicate-polymeric solution was compared with KCl-polymeric solution; and the invert-emulsion solution based on mineral oil
was compared with invert-emulsion solution based on the compound ethers.

Chart 1. Clay hydration in KCl-silicate-polymeric solution and KCl-polymeric solution.

Chart 1 shows, that in medium of KCl-silicate-polymeric solution the maximum swelling rate of a sample is observed
within 8 hours, and a stabilization comes after 16 hours. Fast primary clay swelling is connected with high solution alkalinity;
but, later on, due to formation of hydrosilicates on the surface of clay particles, safety film is forming; this prevents further
water absorption. In case with KCl-polymeric solution, the process of active hydration lasts 22 hours, and then smooth growth
without stabilization of hydration takes place. On the ground of the obtained data, we can come to a conclusion, that the
silicate drilling fluid will provide more durable retention of stability of similar formation during the drilling.
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Chart 2. Inhibiting property of the invert-emulsion solution based on mineral oil.

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Chart 3. Inhibiting property of the invert-emulsion solution based on the compound ethers.

In charts 2 and 3, when comparing the invert-emulsion solutions based on mineral oil and on the compound ethers, it
can be noticed that the inhibiting properties are at about similar level with short odds of hydrocarbon solution. The result
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shows the possibility of changing hydrocarbon-based solutions in some geological and engineering conditions with high
environmental requirements.

The carried out laboratory tests of the proposed drilling fluids confirm that in practice such change of traditional
reagents to exceptionally environmentally compatible materials not only allows the drilling fluids to keep necessary working
quality comparable with widely used compositions of the inhibited drilling fluids based on water and hydrocarbons, but is also
eversafe for offshore drilling.